In Ann Arbor, Michigan, voters approved a 30 year property tax increase to preserve open space and farmland at the city's periphery. These funds are being used to create a "Greenbelt" of more parkland and end urban sprawl. Individuals against the "Greenbelt" plan have concerns about the equity of the program. They argue that reducing the amount of land available for residential development will affect the inventory of affordable housing, and that the greenbelt will mainly be around high-income areas of the city, thereby benefiting the rich in the city, while costing all taxpayers money. Though the Greenbelt program now only works on an open market, some landowners are worried that if they refuse the price offered to them by Ann Arbor, the city may use eminent domain to get their land for a lower price than first offered.

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Case Study prepared for the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl National Championship, 2010